The Mandalorian began as one of the defining television experiences of the pandemic era, bringing audiences together at home during a moment of global isolation. Now, with Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu heading to theaters, Pedro Pascal, Jon Favreau and Sigourney Weaver say the franchise is evolving into something even bigger: a cinematic event designed to recapture the communal magic of blockbuster moviegoing.

For Pascal, the transition from streaming phenomenon to theatrical spectacle feels deeply connected to the movies that shaped his own childhood love of cinema.

Pedro Pascal says The Mandalorian and Grogu taps into the magic of classic blockbuster filmmaking

Pascal reflected on how the film reminds him of the larger-than-life movie experiences that first made him fall in love with storytelling.

“I love movies so much,” Pascal said. “I’m more of a fan moviegoer than I am an actor.”

The actor explained that watching Jon Favreau bring The Mandalorian to theaters reminded him of discovering franchises like Star Wars, James Bond and Indiana Jones as a child.

“I remember being a kid obviously seeing Star Wars as early as I can remember,” he said. “And also I remember seeing my first Bond movie and had no idea who James Bond was with all the context of all of these other movies that existed before and other actors that had played the part.”

Pascal added that films like Raiders of the Lost Ark helped shape his understanding of cinematic spectacle and legacy storytelling.

“And of course the first being a kid and seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark and that is sort of the origins of Indiana Jones, but the beginning of an entire sort of legacy,” he said.

For Pascal, The Mandalorian and Grogu works both as a Star Wars story and as a celebration of moviegoing itself.

“And in this, I know that if you love Star Wars, you will love this movie and if you love movies, you will love this movie,” he said. “Or if you just want to try a movie out, you’re going to love the movie.”

Jon Favreau reflects on The Mandalorian becoming a pandemic-era family ritual

Favreau recalled how The Mandalorian Season 2 arrived at a uniquely emotional moment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“What’s interesting about that, we finished season two just as things shut down,” Favreau said. “So we got to remotely edit it and do post-production sound mix and things thanks to the technology.”

As theaters remained closed, Favreau said the series unexpectedly became something families experienced together at home.

“There was a time when a lot of people, theaters weren’t open, people were in their homes,” he said. “Also people were in homes together. There was like generations of families that were together in an interesting way.”

Favreau noted that audiences were craving communal experiences during that period.

“One of the things I heard was a lot of people would be gathered around at home watching the show during those months,” he said.

Now, years later, Favreau believes there’s nostalgia attached to that era, particularly for younger fans who grew up with Grogu.

“And oh, I remember Baby Yoda from back in 2021,” he joked. “For us it’s a few years ago. It’s five years ago. But five years ago, when you’re 12, is a long time.”

Jon Favreau says bringing The Mandalorian to theaters feels like a celebration

Favreau explained that moving the franchise to theaters allows the creative team to finally deliver the kind of cinematic scale they always envisioned.

“It definitely does feel like a celebration for us,” he said. “It felt very important to me in marking as I watched the film in that context because yes, here we are always wishing we had been on the big screen, always wishing we could do set pieces like this.”

The filmmaker also pointed to the unique advantage of adapting characters that audiences already feel emotionally connected to.

“Now with characters that people are at least familiar with, maybe just from social media, but these are characters that people have an attachment to,” he said.

Favreau added that The Mandalorian and Grogu occupies a rare creative space between sequel, reboot and entirely original storytelling.

“To have characters that already have weight with them, but yet not be a sequel or a remake of it,” he said. “So it’s an interesting waters to navigate.”

He also teased the opportunity to introduce fan-favorite characters to wider audiences.

“And then we can introduce new characters like Rada or introduce characters like Zeb to a new audience that people might be very familiar with from the animated shows,” Favreau said.

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu stars Pedro Pascal, Sigourney Weaver and Jeremy Allen White. Directed by Jon Favreau, the film opens exclusively in theaters May 22, 2026.